Moerdiono tells Davis Cup squad to give their all
Moerdiono tells Davis Cup squad to give their all
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Davis Cup team received a morale
boost yesterday when the country's top tennis figures Moerdiono
and Sarwono Kusumaatmadja attended a training session prior to
the tie against South Korea this weekend.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, flanked by the chairman of
the Indonesian Tennis Association Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, told the
young players to battle it out in their matches, scheduled to
begin on Friday.
"Keep on fighting, do your best and don't give up easily," he
told Suwandi, Adrian Raturandang, Donny Susetyo and Eddy
Kusdaryanto shortly after the practice.
"If you guys play well, audiences will put their weight behind
you," said Moerdiono, the chairman of the Indonesian Tennis
Association in 1989-1994.
"But be careful and be prepared, Jakarta audiences can be
cruel," he warned them, "They cheer you on only when you play
well but they jeer you if you play badly."
Indonesia will play the Koreans in the Asia-Oceania zone first
round at the Senayan clay court arena. It will be the eighth
encounter between them in the past two decades, with the scores
tied at 4-4.
The four members of the Indonesian Davis Cup team predicted
that the match against South Korea will be very tough.
"It'll be tough but I'll try my best," Suwandi, Indonesia's
number one tennis player, said. It will be Suwandi's fifth cap in
the world tennis team championship since 1994.
Moerdiono agreed with Suwandi. "I don't want to predict
anything," he said, "All I want is that they will try their best
and win the match."
Moerdiono also promised to be one of the cheering supporters
at court-side every day during the three-day match. "I will
personally ask tennis lovers, including dangdut singers, to join
me," he said.
Optimism
Chairman Sarwono expressed guarded optimism that his team
would maintain its unbeaten record at home.
"I have seen them playing well so I think they deserve
victory," he said.
Suwandi, ranked 423rd in the world, will definitely play the
first singles but coach Deddy Prasetyo has kept the second
singles a secret.
"We still have Adrian, Eddy and Donny," he said, "They are all
in satisfying physical condition. It's difficult to decide."
"I personally prefer Eddy," he added. "Eddy plays well on clay
and he is more consistent compared to the others," he said of the
player he raised in his own club.
"Adrian, on the other hand, has deep strokes that could cause
the Korean players problems."
Deddy said he would leave the choice to the non-playing
captain Wailan Walalangi. The line-up of the Indonesian team will
be announced on Thursday, just an hour before the draw.
Deddy said the Korean players were physically fitter than his
players and had a combination of speed and power.
South Korean non-playing captain, Yeon Yoong-dai, said that
his singles choices would be Yoon Yoong-il and Lee Hyun-taik, two
Davis Cup regulars and former Asian champions. But Yeon has not
yet decided his doubles pairing.
Yeon said that his side, which arrived here last week, is
better prepared than the host team. (05)